1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power generation unit, and a fuel cell having the power generation unit mounted thereon.
2. Description of Related Art
A fuel cell is a power generation element which generates electric power by allowing a fuel gas, such as hydrogen gas, and an oxidant gas, such as oxygen gas, to electrochemically react. The fuel cell has been attracting a public attention as an environmentally-clean power generation element, because water is an only product of the power generation, so that efforts have been made typically on its use as a drive power source for driving automobiles.
The fuel cell can be classified by electrolyte into various types, wherein a representative type is known as a fuel cell using a solid polymer electrolyte as the electrolyte. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell can be reduced in costs, easy to downsize, easy to thin, and easy to reduce in weight, and is also advantageous in cell performance by virtue of its high output energy density, so that it is promising as a drive power source for notebook personal computer, mobile phone, and portable electronic appliances such as PDA. There is also a proposal on a stacked cell type fuel cell configured by alternately stacking a plurality of power generation cells and flow path forming components.
As one example of a conventional stacked cell type fuel cell, there is known a fuel cell as shown in FIG. 12, configured by alternately stacking, on a base plate 922, an electrode-electrolyte joint component 920, in which an electrolyte film and electrodes are integrated, and a flow path forming plat plate component 921 having a flow path for a fuel gas on one surface thereof and that for an oxidant gas on the other surface thereof, then by placing a fastening flat plate 93 on the topmost thereof, and by fastening them using fastening bolts penetrating them in the direction of stacking. The electrolyte film and the electrodes have a catalyst layer held in between, so as to allow a power generation reaction to proceed at the interface between the catalyst layer and electrolyte film.
In the power generation by thus-configured, stacked cell type fuel cell, it is necessary to supply the oxidant gas such as air to the flow path for the oxidant gas. The air supply to the oxidant gas flow path relying upon the natural convection within the cell is, however, unsuccessful in stably supplying the air. In other words, this results in lowering in the power generation efficiency. In order to stably supply the air to the flow path, there is adopted a method of supplying the air to the flow path by forcedly creating an air flow within the cell using an air-supply fan provided in the fuel cell.
As one example, there is known a fuel cell having a housing equipped with an air supply fan, disposed at the opening portion of the oxidant gas flow path of the stacked cell type fuel cell. (See Patent Document 1, for example.)
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 2001-015136